Seeing Beyond
by Futomaki
Summary: Kyōko is sent on a task that ends up her coming to a misunderstanding on a situation. -Ties in a bit with my other story, Baron Rouge. -Slight OC x Minamitsu drabbling.


_Just another day sweeping the pathway,_ Kyōko thought.

The yamabiko was ready for something exciting to happen. Sure, she loves her job. But doesn't everyone need a little pep in their life?

"Good morning, Kyōko. Glad to see you're as diligent as ever," The priestess of the Myouren Temple, Byakuren Hijiri, had just come back from the village.

"Good morning, Hijiri!" The yamabiko was almost always sure to keep her voice down in the presence of Byakuren, as not to get scolded.

"In fact, I think you need a little break," Byakuren says. "I actually forgot to go to **Suzunaan** during my trip. Would you be so kind as to go there and pick up my order for me?"

"BOY, WOULD I!" Of course, Kyōko was prone to bouts of excitement. She handed Byakuren her broom. "I'll be back before long, don't you worry, Hijiri!"

"M-Make sure to tone your voice down," Byakuren's ears were still ringing. "We wouldn't want to make anyone **tone** deaf..."

"Gotcha!" Kyōko practically ran down the pathway.

"Oh, Kyōko..." Byakuren couldn't help smiling.

* * *

Kyōko stood out quite a lot in the Human Village. For one thing, she wasn't human. She was a yamabiko, a yōkai to most. Only the humans that frequented the temple called her by her speciality. When they did, it made her ears perk up and her tail wag in joy.

The great thing about her is that she was one of the nicer yōkai in Gensokyo; if you went too far from the village, a yōkai like Rumia or Mystia would smell you, and try to eat you.

The villagers that passed Kyōko acknowledged her happiness, and decided that it was okay for them to wave, or to stop and say 'hello'.

Asides from that, the trip to find Suzunaan wasn't too difficult. Opening the door, the air inside had a bit of an eerie feeling to it, but Kyōko didn't bother to wonder about it too much.

Shelves and shelves galore were filled with books of all genres, from informational to story books. Kyōko marveled at the sight before a certain girl noticed the yamabiko at the front entrance.

"W-Welcome to Suzunaan!" The girl said. Her light red hair was styled in twintails that were fixed together with bells that rung a small amount as she walked towards Kyōko, and her apron atop her kimono read _Kosuzu,_ and under that it said _Suzunaan_. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes! Hijiri forgot to pick up a recent order while she was in the village earlier today, so she sent me!" Kyōko's tail wagged while she watched the bells adorning Kosuzu's hair swing back and forth.

"Ah, you're a yōkai, aren't you?"

The yamabiko nods.

"Um... a yamabiko?" Kosuzu watched Kyōko's face light up at the correct guess.

"YEAH! I'm a yamabiko!~" Her tail wagged even more.

"Aww... well, I'll go get the order for you!" Kosuzu walked to a room in the back.

 _Imagine if I had all these books..._ Kyōko slowly began to walk towards the mass amount of shelves. She reached her hand out to take an odd-looking book off to look at it, until...

"O-Oh! Stop, don't touch that one!" Kosuzu rushed over to stop the curious yamabiko from touching the book. "Phew..."

"Why can't I touch it? It looks so interesting..."

"Because that book is- nevermind! Here's **part** of the order for Byakuren Hijiri. She already paid when she ordered them, so..." She handed a bag of books to Kyōko.

"Wha... part? Where's the rest of her order?"

"I think Akyū had to borrow them... but it's been a week, so she might be through with them."

"OKAY!" Kyōko started back towards the entrance, when she realized... "Wait, where's she live?"

"You can't miss it! It's this really huge mansion in the village! She almost always there, so I wouldn't be too worried. Although..." Kosuzu points at Kyōko's ears and tail. "They might not let you in."

"No prob! I'll just tell... wait, they?" Kyōko cocked her head to the side.

"Yeah. The Heida family is pretty prestigious and high up. Lots and lots of maids and butlers!"

"O-Oh... well, I'll just ask nicely." Kyōko waved with her free arm. "Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Yamabiko-chan!"

* * *

Kyōko walked outside Suzunaan. _A big mansion? That shouldn't be too hard to find._

Again, a lot of attention from the villagers halted her progress. But she had to hurry! She shrugged off the villagers and ran to the Village Square. She gazed up and looked for any building that could house the Heida family.

Off in the distance, there was a very grand building that towered over the rest.

"THAT MUST BE THE MANSION!" Kyōko shouted, earning a few suspicious looks from the passing villagers. "Oops, sorry! Please go on with your day!"

"I couldn't help but cover my ears from the shouting," said no one in particular. "Please refrain from such an outburst again."

"I'm sorry!" Kyōko bowed, and they went away.

So she began to make her way to the mansion (she presumed). It seemed like nobody walked around this side of the village, because there were no cheery faces greeting her.

There was, however, a certain rokurokubi that was walking along. The first to make eye contact was Kyōko, who waved.

"Hello! Is this the way to the Heida mansion?"

The rokurokubi (named Sekibanki) rolled her eyes.

"What do you think? It's the only building that huge in the village," Sekibanki turned around and pointed.

"But the Myouren Temple is really big, too!" Kyōko says.

"Ugh... _yes_ , that's the huge fancy mansion. Please use your common sense."

"Why were you walking the opposite way to the mansion?"

"... because I can," Sekibanki squinted. "Why are you walking towards the mansion?"

"I gotta get the rest of Hijiri's books from Heida no... Akyū?" Kyōko showed the books to Sekibanki, who showed no interest. "Say, aren't you..."

"Quit asking me questions!" The rokurokubi spat, making Kyōko's ears droop. "Er... I've gotta go."

Sekibanki walked away, leaving the yamabiko a bit depressed.

Sniffling, she began her journey yet again to the Heida mansion.

* * *

Arriving at the entrance, Kyōko saw a human guard patrolling around the premises.

"Halt! Wait... what'sa yōkai doing here?" The guard asked.

"HEYO! I'm here to see... er... Heida no Akyū? Yeah, that's who it is!" Kyōko's ears perked up.

"I dunno... why'dya need to see the young mistress?"

"Well, y'see, she has some of the books that Hijiri bought," Kyōko held up the bag full of books, "and she wants them today."

"We can't just a'go lettin' yōkai in. I'll have'ta go an-"

"No need. I've heard everything I need to hear." As if on cue, a girl around the same height as Kyōko came out. Her purple hair was cut to about her shoulders, and she wore a brightly colored kimono.

"M-Mistress!" The guard turned around and bowed.

"You're excused, Koto-san."

"A-Aye!" He straighted himself up and began patrolling again.

"You must be the yamabiko that Kosuzu told me about just a while ago... Kyōko, right?" Akyū smiled. "I am finished with the books; in fact, come in and I'll give them to you."

"R-Really? Oh, THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Kyōko covered her mouth after the outburst, which caused Akyū to giggle.

"Well, let's go inside."

The two girls walked inside the mansion, Akyū as calm as ever, while Kyōko... well, who was so enamored by the sight, couldn't help but stop every few seconds to glance to the side.

"Quite fascinating, isn't it?" Akyū slid the door open to her personal study, which was full of books. "Now I just have to find which stack..."

"Do you need any help?" Kyōko asked.

"I mean, if you would like to. The first book on the stack should read 'The Fundamentals of...' "

"This?" Kyōko held up a book that was labeled _The Fundamentals of Cooking Exquisite Meals._

"Oh, yes. It's quite the traditional cookbook, so I have no idea why they labeled it _exquisite_."

"Wow! Did you cook any of the recipies?"

"Yes, I did." Akyū sighed.

 _Well, at least I attempted to..._

"This stack of books is pretty large. Did Hijiri actually order all of these books?" Kyōko began stuffing the remaining books one by one into her bag.

"I believe so. She must want to learn how to cook if she got all of those books..." _Just like me._

"Ichirin usually does the cooking, but a woman is supposed to know how to cook, apparently. I don't, though!~" Kyōko grins.

"They're supposed to know how to cook for their **husbands,** " Akyū paused, then her eyes widened. "Don't tell me she has a suitor, Kyōko?"

"E-Eh? Hijiri having a **SUITOR**?! I can't imagine..." Kyōko's eyes widened as well. "but it's possible!"

"That would be quite interesting, wouldn't it?"

"I-I'm sorry, Akyū, I have to get back to the temple!"

Without saying proper goodbyes, Kyōko rushed out of Akyū's study, out of the mansion, and back on the path to the village.

"... this might be something worth writing about in the chronicles, huh?"

* * *

"I feel so bad for rushing out like that, but now I just HAVE to find out!"

Kyōko had finally made her way back to the temple, where she sat down the heavy bag on the staircase.

"Hijiri! I... _huff_... **I have your order**!" Kyōko mustered the rest of her breath to yell into the temple.

"Ah, Kyōko, you're back!" Byakuren made her way down the staircase and picked up the bag. "Thank you."

"Yeah... no prob, Bob."

"My name isn't- oh, right, it's just an expression."

"I have a question about your book choice, Hijiri." Kyōko's ears twitched a bit.

"Hm? What about it?" Byakuren's smiling facial expression turned into a puzzled one.

"Why did you buy a bunch'a cookbooks?"

Byakuren said nothing, but another voice did.

"Hey, Byakuren, is Kyōko h... oh, yes she is." Nigel waved from inside. _A bit of a regular at the temple nowadays. He's not religious, yet he spends a lot of his time hanging around the area._ "Hello, Kyōko."

"Nigel! What are you doing here?" Kyōko cocked her head.

"I'm here for dinner, well, again..." _Unfortunately_. He shook his head and got rid of the negative thought. "Byakuren was going to try a recipe out of one of the books to fix for dinner. It's kind of hard to do that if she doesn't have a book..."

"I-I'M SO SORRY!" Kyōko stood up and bowed.

"Eh? It's no problem, really," Byakuren shook her head. "Besides, we've been having fun while you were gone."

"If you think that playing 20 questions is fun, I guess..." Nigel huffed.

"Don't be so mad. Personally, I thought some of the questions were hilarious."

Kyōko wiped the sweat off her brow, panicking a bit. _They're acting like a couple already! Gosh, where have I been the past few months?!_

"Well, I'll go start dinner. Nigel, keep the girls company." Byakuren headed inside, followed suit by Kyōko and Nigel.

Shō, Nue, Ichirin, and Minamitsu were sitting on the floor around a table.

"Hey, Kyōko! Welcome back!" Minamitsu grinned and waved Kyōko and Nigel over.

Kyōko sat down beside Minamitsu, while Nigel sat on the edge beside nobody.

Nue looked at Nigel, smirking,

"Nigel, why didn't you sit be-"

Before she could finish her statement, Nue was hit in the face by Minamitsu's anchor.

"S-Shut up!" Minamitsu blushed profusely.

"At it again, you two?" Mamizō had just arrived and decided sat down right beside the unconscious Nue.

"I think they are," Ichirin giggled. "It's very amusing."

"Yes, it is." Shō agreed.

Nigel ducked down under the table in embarrassment, but _of course_ , Minamitsu did the same (since she couldn't rightly knock everybody out with her anchor).

"Oh, hello!" Kyōko looked down under the table at the two, who were staring at each other.

"Er..."

"Dinner's read- oh my..." Byakuren glanced under the table. "Um..."

As fast as they had ducked under, they lifted their heads up.

Nigel wasn't too lucky and hit his head off the bottom, resulting in him grunting and laying his head on the floor.

"I think I sustained a concussion..."

"It's just like last time, isn't it?" Shō smiled.

" _Last time_? There was a last time?" Byakuren inquired.

"N-No!" Shō quickly shook her head.

"Oh, so it was an inside joke?"

"Yes, Hijiri, that's what it was."

"Okay, that makes sense." Byakuren nodded.

Minamitsu grabbed Nigel's arm and dragged him out from under the table.

"Great, it's bleeding," Minamitsu sighed and grabbed her ladle.

"Wait a minute..." Kyōko looked at Byakuren, then back at Nigel.

"Is there something wrong, Kyōko?"

"I-I thought that you..."

"Yes?"

"I thought that you two were-"

"Hijiri, I need some bandages to wrap his head." Minamitsu cut Kyōko off before she could finish.

"I'll go get some. Ichirin, you wouldn't mind bringing in the food from the kitchen?" Byakuren looked at Ichirin, who nodded.

"Of course." Ichirin and Byakuren proceeded to do what they were asked of.

"Grr..." Kyōko pouted a bit, crossing her arms and pursing her lips.

"Believe me, I've seen worse on the ship... well, back in the day," Minamitsu used the water flowing out of her ladle to wash the blood out of Nigel's head and hair. "A concussion is nothing."

"Really...? Like what?" Nigel looked up at Minamitsu, who had his head on her lap.

"Oh, just your normal limp amputations." She shrugged, which caused her to splash water.

Ichirin came out with the food, and Byakuren came back with a roll of bandages. Ichrin sat down the food on the table.

"Here's the bandages you wanted, Minamitsu." Byakuren handed them to her.

"Thanks."

Minamitsu proceeded to bandage up the top of Nigel's head.

"Now, Kyōko," Byakuren sat down beside Kyōko, "what was your question again?"

"...never mind." Kyōko looked at Minamitsu, who was happily finishing the bandages on Nigel's head. "I think I had a bad assumption."

Byakuren smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you settled that out." She also glanced over towards Minamitsu.

"All done," Minamitsu put the rest of the bandages on the table. "You have to replace them at least once a day for a little while, until your head heals up."

"I don't know how to change bandages." Nigel lifts his head up from Minsmitsu's lap.

"Well, I guess you know who you'll be comin' to." She grinned.

"Isn't that sweet?" Kyōko beamed.

"I-It's just common courtesy."

"Alright, let's just eat. I'm starving!" Shō eyeballed the food. "Say, what is this?"

"Apparently it's a vegetarian Asian cuisine." Byakuren said.

"Ugh, vegetarian..." Nigel grimaced.

"Don't worry, I made you a normal cuisine."

"Oh, good..." Nigel looked over at Minamitsu and smiled. "I almost forgot to thank you for... uh... bandaging my head up."

"No problem. Besides, it's not like anyone else in this room could've done it."

At this point their faces were in close proximity of eachothers', but for the first time ever, it didn't really matter to them.

Nue, however, had just woke up from unconsciousness.

"Wow, I was unconscious all this time and I wake up to this? Wow, I'm glad I was-"

"...ya know, I don't have anything to say to you right now." Minamitsu rolled her eyes over in Nue's general direction.

"Score one for me!" Nue inched closer to her. "Say..."

"Say what?"

Nue grinned as she purposefully grabbed Nigel's shirt collar and pulled him ever so slightly towards Minamitsu, to the point that they were _inches_ apart from each other.

"Why you littl-"

Before she could finish her statement, Nue had already done the deed of pushing their faces together in a not-so-nice fashion. Of course it satisfied her, so everything was fine in her eyes.

"Nue!" Mamizō dragged her friend away from the two as they parted, too embarrassed to say anything to each other. Even so, Minamitsu was smiling nontheless.

Ichirin looked rather happy for the two of them, while Shō looked a bit down.

"Well, good for you two!" Ichirin exclaimed.

"Even if it was forced..." Mamizō glared at Nue, "it still counts."

"Well, that settles that," Byakuren gestures towards the table of food. "Let's eat."

"Yes," Minamitsu puts her arm around Nigel, who doesn't resist, "let's dig in!"

So Kyōko, indeed, had quite the adventure today. From running around the Human Village to... this, she was truly exhausted.

And so after a nice dinner, she sat on her bed as she contemplated the events today,

and what may happen tomorrow.

* * *

I feel so bad that I haven't been up-to-date with my other story, but my muse has truly been other places.

This is just a little side drabble. Honestly, you can pretend it happened or you can pretend it didn't happen. I was (and still am) a little nervous about how others would receive this just because of _cough_ the last part _cough_ , but I've gotten over it.

Please review! Help me to improve the best that I can!

-Author


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